Perovskite Solar Cells

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) supports research and development projects that increase the efficiency and lifetime of metal-halide perovskite solar cells, speeding the commercialization of perovskite solar technologies and decreasing manufacturing costs. 

What is a perovskite solar cell?

Perovskites are a family of materials that have shown potential for high performance and low production costs in solar cells. The name “perovskite” comes from their crystal structure. These materials are utilized in other energy technologies, such as fuel cells and catalysts. Perovskites commonly used in photovoltaic (PV) solar cells are more specifically called “metal-halide perovskites” since they are made of a combination of organic ions, metals, and halogens; perovskites in other applications may be made of oxygen instead of halogens and are usually entirely inorganic.

Metal-halide perovskites are the main absorbing material, or “active layer,” in a perovskite solar cell. In this potentially inexpensive technology, a thin layer of perovskite absorbs light, which excites charged particles called electrons; when these excited electrons are extracted, they generate electric power. Perovskite cells are referred to as thin-film because they require much thinner active layers relative to crystalline silicon PV.